Police ask for public’s help in probe of stabbings

PAWTUCKET—Pawtucket Police are seeking information on the circumstances surrounding a violent home invasion that occurred inside an apartment at 21 Memorial Drive on Thursday.
According to Maj. Arthur Martins, at approximately 2:30 p.m., Pawtucket Police were called to the area of Memorial Drive in response to a call reporting two injured people. When police arrived, they found a male and a female, each with their hands bound and suffering from stab wounds.
The victims were identified as Gabriel Hernandez, 36, and Olga Mada, 59, both of 21 Memorial Dr. The two were transported to a local hospital for treatment of wounds that did not appear to be life-threatening.
Hernandez and Mada told officers that a dark-skinned male, wearing a mask and dark-colored clothing, entered their apartment and demanded money. They said the suspect began to tie both of their hands, and when they attempted to resist, he stabbed them.
The suspect escaped with a small amount of money. After he left the apartment, Hernandez and Mada were able to make it outside, where they ran down the street frantically asking for help. Someone in the neighborhood notified the police, Martins said.
The incident shattered the calm of the usual peaceful neighborhood off Columbus Avenue, which contains a cluster of single- and two-family homes and the Grupo Amigos da Terceira community center. Several neighbors who had been watching the crime scene, and the woman who owns the house where the home invasion occurred and lives on the first floor, said that nothing like this had ever happened before in that area and that the incident had left them uneasy.
The homeowner, Marilia Duarte, said she had rented her second floor apartment to Mada and her adult son for about two years and had never had any problems with them as tenants. She said she was told by police that the door leading to the apartment had been kicked in.
Police say that the incident is still under investigation, but it is not believed to have been random.
Anyone with information regarding this crime is asked to call Detective Devine at 401-727-9100, ext. 764 or Detective Rosciti at ext. 737.